For those of us who have attended dozens of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band concerts over the years, sometimes it can seem as though you have seen it all – the crowd interaction, the sign requests, the rarities and the genuine “holy shit!” moments – and that nothing can surprise you anymore.

All of these factors were on full display at this past Wednesday night’s marathon, three hour plus blowout at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon too.

But in many ways, they were amplified to the power of ten. At one of their only two Pacific Northwest shows this year (they also played Vancouver BC, but mysteriously skipped Seattle), the greatest band in rock seemed to be on a mission to spread the E Street gospel even more than usual.

Bruce was particularly animated at this show, and for a guy who has never been bashful about getting up close and personal with his audience to begin with, there was more glad-handing with the fans than ever. How many aging rockers can you name that are still crowd-surfing in their sixties?

(Photo Credit: Matthew Cook)

At several points during the show, fans were brought up onstage for their own round of “Sing along with Bruce.”

There were the cute little girls up there for “Waiting On A Sunny Day.” There was the group of gals with the matching “Lesbians Love Bruce” shirts during “Darlington County” (prompting Springsteen to thank “my lesbian fan club”). And there was the guy who celebrated his 50th birthday with a sign request for “Growin’ Up,” only to end up in his own duet of the song with The Boss onstage (and forgetting the words in the process).

Speaking of sign requests, there were a ton of them at this show, and no less than six of them got played.

Fortunately, they were all great choices, ranging from “Rosalita” in the encores, to the rarely played “Seeds,” and two of those genuine, aforementioned “holy shit!” moments in “Drive All Night” and the Born In The USA era-outtake “Loose Ends” (which eventually made the Tracks boxed set).

In the case of the latter, the request came from a sign that featured an Elvis Costello style “wheel of hits,” which Bruce brought up yet another audience member to spin. After a couple of false starts, the wheel finally landed on “Steve’s Choice,” prompting an evil grin from guitarist Little Steven Van Zandt and one of those ultra-rare song choices that hardcore Springsteen fans salivate for.

For such a rarely played track, the E Street Band nailed it too. Let’s hope that “Steve’s Choice” becomes a tradition.

“Drive All Night,” from the 1980 double album The River has probably been played less than a dozen times in the 30 plus years since its original release, and less than half that since Jake Clemons inherited the sax spot in the E Street Band. But in a moment that would surely have made Uncle Clarence proud, Jake filled those very big shoes with a stunning, pitch perfect solo.

In a show which saw Bruce referencing ghosts often – particularly on a stunning “My City Of Ruins” (which has come full circle back to its original theme about dying Jersey Shore communities, devastated once again now by Hurricane Sandy) – Springsteen also paid tribute to the ghosts of fallen E Street comrades Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici. The spirits of both men hung heavily over the Rose Garden all night, but particularly so during both “My City Of Ruins” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.”

Other highlights from the wildly unpredictable setlist included “Land Of Hope And Dreams” as the show-opener (the song usually closes out the main set, or is played during the encores). On a rare, solo version of “If I Should Fall Behind” (and another sign request, this time from a couple celebrating their wedding anniversary), Bruce turned in one of his strongest vocal performances of the night.

“Jack Of All Trades,” one of the more rarely played tracks from Wrecking Ball, and a cranked sounding “Johnny 99” were also standouts. Interestingly, “This Depression” and “Reason To Believe” were both sound-checked for what one would assume were the same slots. Both sounded great for those of us lucky enough to hear them waiting in line for the GA section on the outer concourse of the arena.

For longtime veterans of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band concerts, it can sometimes be a little tempting to become jaded, or to judge these shows merely by the unpredictable setlists. Part of this, is simply because Springsteen sets the bar so high, that his most ardent fans tend to become somewhat more naturally demanding themselves. These are of course the same fans who would probably scream the loudest if either “Badlands” or “Born To Run” weren’t played at all, even though both have been dusted off at virtually every E Street Band concert since 1978.

Those fans had to leave the arena feeling pretty satisfied in Portland. But even if none of the rarities had been played at all, this would have ranked as one of the great ones. The newly expanded E Street Band played their asses off for over three hours making for one very high energy show. The band was tight, the new horn section sounded great, and Bruce and Steve in particular looked like they were having the time of their lives.

On the liner notes for her first-ever official live DVD release, Patti Smith’s longtime musical co-conspirator Lenny Kaye writes “we are jazz,” and perhaps somewhat in awe of the storied venue where it was recorded, the free-form spirit of improvisation permeates much of Live At Montreux 2005.

This shouldn’t be at all surprising to those who have long worshiped at the altar of the one-time reigning high priestess of punk-rock though.

Although Patti Smith is most often associated with the same late seventies New York punk-rock boom that produced the Ramones, Blondie and Talking Heads, the stream of consciousness incantations on the longer songs from her masterpiece Horses like “Birdland,” owe as much to Ornette Coleman and Roland Kirk as they do to Dylan, Burroughs or Rimbaud.

However, on Live At Montreux 2005, Patti Smith and her band take this shamanistic approach a step further. The punk-rock wild child seen on such widely circulated bootlegs as the 1979 performance for Germany’s Rockpalast broadcast (where she was the rather unlikely opening act for Johnny Winter), is mostly absent here. On this DVD, Patti Smith and her great band instead let the music speak just as loudly as her own formidable gift for wordplay.

There are numerous examples of the musicians here taking Patti Smith’s songs to the dizzying heights of tonal exploration that jazz cats like Coleman, Kirk, and Miles Davis would surely appreciate. But Tom Verlaine’s performance here in particular needs to be singled out.

Verlaine’s great work with Television – particularly on their brilliant Marquee Moon – is already a matter of record. But sitting in with Patti Smith’s band for this performance, Verlaine’s guitar work is just stellar. On “Beneath The Southern Cross,” Verlaine’s subtle flourishes add just the right amount of color to the dreamy, meditative quality of Smith’s tone poem. His extended solo late into “Dancing Barefoot,” likewise lends a trance-like feel, which Smith then polishes off nicely with one of her more passionate vocals.

Patti Smith herself gets into the spirit of musical improvisation as well here, dedicating “Seven Ways Of Going” to Ornette Coleman, before taking flight on the clarinet to scale her own heights of tonal bliss. On “25th Floor,” she turns this same approach inside out, creating a frenzy of discordant noise worthy of Hendrix (though perhaps somewhat lacking his technique), on a beat up old Fender Strat.

Although Patti Smith comes across more these days as an elder rock poet, it is fitting that for her long overdue first official live release she also her acknowledges her past.

The “hits” are represented nicely here on letter perfect versions of “Because The Night,” “Free Money,” and “Redondo Beach.” Patti also re-embraces her original inner punk-rock revolutionary on a frenzied cover of “Not Fade Away,” which segues nicely into the show-closing call to arms anthem “People Have The Power.”

Coming more than 35 years after her landmark debut album Horses, Patti Smith’s first official live document has been a long time coming. But the performance seen and heard on Live At Montreux 2005 proves more than worth the wait.

With the future of Porcupine Tree officially on hold (at least for now) while Steven Wilson pursues both his solo career and various other projects, Octane Twisted represents something of a holdover gift for fans still hoping the hiatus is only a temporary one.

Recorded primarily during the Chicago stop of the tour behind their last studio album, 2009’s The Incident, this limited “deluxe” 2 CD/1 DVD edition of live tracks is beautifully packaged in a hardbound foldout case loaded with new photographs. Octane Twisted is also available in a more modest, standard 2CD package.

The first disc features a complete run-through of the ambitious album-length title opus from The Incident. The second cherry picks selected tracks from throughout the band’s career, including crowd favorites like the slightly shorter fifteen minute epic “Arriving Somewhere But Not Here,” as well as more rarely played songs like “Stars Die.”

But the bonus DVD, which features the same complete performance of The Incident as heard on that first CD, is the real kicker here. If this really is the last we’ll be hearing from Porcupine Tree for awhile, then they are going out on a very high note. The performance of The Incident is a stunner, and the sound quality is outstanding – particularly in the case of Gavin Harrison’s drumming.

The original studio recording of The Incident is not without its flaws – it’s hard to listen to “Time Flies” without being instantly reminded of the similarities to Pink Floyd’s Animals for one thing. But you can’t help but admire the audaciousness of Steven Wilson in trying to produce an album-length conceptual piece like this. It’s like the modern-day equivalent of something like Jethro Tull’s Thick As A Brick – an album which Wilson, not coincidentally, recently remastered for its anniversary release.

The thing is, even though it shares some of Tull’s more pretentious qualities, The Incident is ultimately a more consistently listenable piece of music. On this live recording, even the shorter, more ponderous passages reveal intricate little shades of light and shadow only hinted at on the original. But when called upon to crank it up on the more rocking parts of The Incident like “Drawing The Line,” Porcupine Tree prove they can also tear the house down.

Watching this performance on DVD, you also see for the first time how part-time member John Wesley really earns his MVP stripes as backup guitarist and vocalist to Steven Wilson. All of these guys sound great here, including bassist Colin Edwin (whose technique of bending and holding down a note should be mandatory viewing for all aspiring four stringers) and keyboardist Richard Barbieri.

But Gavin Harrison’s drumming really steals the show on this DVD.

Harrison has always been a monster drummer. From the smallest little cymbal flourishes to the most crashing percussive assaults, he has never looked or sounded better than he does here though. If there was ever any doubt that Gavin Harrison is in the same league as guys like Neil Peart, it is all but erased here. Considering that he had a hand in the sound mixing of this DVD along with Wilson, it’s still not that surprising that his drums are as out in front as they are.

As good as the sound on the DVD is though, there are some small flaws in the camera work. The good comes in the fact that they do a nice job of mixing the background visuals, with shots of everyone in the band – not just Steven Wilson. The bad comes mainly when they do focus on Wilson, but occasionally cut off the top of his head in some shots.

Speaking of Steven Wilson, although he says he wants to concentrate on other projects for now, it really is hard to believe this is the last that we have heard from him playing with Porcupine Tree. Over the years, Wilson has shown an almost inhuman ability to juggle multiple projects spanning multiple genres.

But when the muse leads him back towards metallic prog – and eventually it will – I can’t imagine him finding a band better suited for it than this one.

If the performance on Octane Twisted is any indication, Porcupine Tree has plenty left to say.

Between Pete Townshend’s book, the upcoming Quadrophenia tour, and a flood of reissues and otherwise newly unearthed material this year, 2012 has become something of a goldmine for fans of The Who.Live At Hull 1970 joins a long list of new Who releases that includes the recent Live In Texas ’75 DVD and an upcoming boxed set of all the band’s studio albums.

But this release stands apart from the others – not only because it captures The Who during what most acknowledge was their peak period as a live concert act – but also because it was recorded the night after the legendary Live At Leeds show.

Regarded by many as the greatest live rock and roll album ever made, The Who Live At Leeds is, if nothing else, going to be a tough act to follow, even by the same band who created it. Live At Hull 1970 is a worthy, if non-essential, companion piece to that classic.

As the story goes, both performances were recorded for the planned live album, but the Hull tapes were either lost or deemed unworthy of release. There are even rumors that some of John Entwistle’s bass parts heard here, actually came from the Live At Leeds recording, and were duplicated in later studio overdubs for this album.

The main thing you notice about Live At Hull 1970 though – particularly if you own the deluxe version of Live At Leeds released decades after the original single disc album – is that the setlists from the two performances are nearly identical. The biggest difference on Hull is the omission of “Magic Bus,” which was a standout on the original Live At Leeds album. That one is sorely missed on Live At Hull 1970.

But there are other noticeable differences between the two. The version of “Shakin’ All Over” here includes parts of “Spoonful” in the middle, which are missing from the Leeds recording. The blazing, fifteen minute version of “My Generation” heard here is also – incredibly – even more ferociously played than the one heard on Leeds. Townshend simply takes his slash and burn power chording to another level here, and Entwistle and Keith Moon don’t miss a single beat in matching the ensuing pyro note for chaotic note.

Like the deluxe version of Live At Leeds, the second disc here is devoted entirely to a complete run-through of the rock opera Tommy. As was the case there, Tommy takes on a much edgier, rock sound live than on the studio album. Keith Moon is also nothing short of astonishing here. On the extended instrumental parts like “Sparks” and the “Overture,” he pounds the crap out of his drums like a wildman.

That said, making comparisons between these two performances from back-to-back nights, though perhaps a bit unfair, is also inevitable. Mostly, they are so slight as to be almost non-existent. But hardcore Who nerds will certainly notice the differences in recording quality. Those weird little clicks you hear between some of the tracks for one thing. Those are actually the sound of Keith Moon’s sticks hitting the rims of his drums.

If The Who Live At Leeds is considered by many to be the greatest live rock and roll record of all time, the performance here is so close that you could almost mount a decent argument for Live At Hull 1970 as a strong contender for the number two spot. That’s how close these two recordings sound.

Some fans will also argue that Live At Hull is the better performance, due to its rarer, more obscure status compared to the much more celebrated Live At Leeds. But it’s basically the same show.

When considering the history of Genesis, most fans tend to view this band through two distinctly different prisms. For these folks, the “Gabriel” and “Collins” eras exist as polar opposites – light years apart artistically (and certainly commercially).

Two different bands, representing approaches completely independent from one another.

This rear view appraisal, though in some ways unfair, is also dead-on accurate. The eighties pop-rock, MTV video darlings led by drummer/singer Phil Collins that sold albums by the truckloads, bares so little resemblance to the artier, trailblazing prog-rock of the earlier Peter Gabriel model, as to be virtually unrecognizable as the same band.

But where these same two opposing – and equally vociferous – camps of Genesis fans most often miss the point is in identifying just where the division between the “prog” and the “pop” incarnations of Genesis actually took place.

The departure of Peter Gabriel after the tour behind 1975’s The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is most often cited as the breakaway point. But the truth is, Genesis made at least two recognized prog-rock classics (A Trick Of The Tail and Wind And Wuthering) during the post-Gabriel years.

Then guitarist Steve Hackett left.

In retrospect, Hackett’s split from the group was what really cleared the decks for Genesis’ subsequent musical shift towards commercial pop – much more so than Gabriel leaving them behind ever did. Hackett’s own post-Genesis career has had its own share of creative missteps of course (GTR, anyone?).

But on the bulk of Hackett’s solo material over the years, his aim has remained mostly true.

Simply put, and even though he is largely unrecognized as such, Steve Hackett is one of the greatest, most underrated guitar players on the planet. For proof of this, one need look no further than his work on those original Genesis albums, and on early solo recordings from the same period like Voyage Of The Acolyte and Spectral Mornings.

From the quiet, acoustic understatement of “Blood On The Rooftops,” to the crying sustain heard during the closing section of the epic “Supper’s Ready,” Hackett’s guitar playing with Genesis, though often overlooked at the time, was an integral component which made up the band’s densely layered sound.

These songs, along with a few from Hackett’s early solo career, get a long overdue second look on the just released Genesis Revisted II.

But the facelift is mostly a cosmetic one. Unlike its predecessor Watcher of the Skies: Genesis Revisited, on the second volume of Steve Hackett’s re-imagining of his early work with Genesis, the arrangements remain mostly true to the original versions. The biggest differences here are in the vocals – which are taken on by a variety of singers including Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree); Michael Akerfeldt (Opeth); and John Wetton (Asia, King Crimson).

For the most part, the kids all nail their parts in loving, convincing fashion. Old-school prog-rock vet Wetton does a particularly nice job on “Afterglow.” The one glaring misstep is when Amanda Lehmann takes on Sally Oldfield’s original vocal part on “Shadow Of The Hierophant,” from Hackett’s first solo album Voyage Of The Acolyte. Some things simply shouldn’t be missed with, and Oldfield’s oddly haunting voice on that track is definitely one of them. The deep thudding drums of the original are also sorely missed.

The results become even more mixed when the originals are matched up with modern-day studio technology. If you grew up with Genesis albums like Foxtrot and Selling England By The Pound, it’s hard to miss the comparatively flat sound here on songs like “Return of The Giant Hogweed” and “Dancing With the Moonlit Knight,” when placed side-by-side against the edgier-sounding originals.

On the other hand, songs like “The Lamia” and especially “Ripples” (which beautifully reproduces the swelling mellotron of the original version), sound pretty great on these new recordings. Hackett’s guitar has also never sounded better than it does here.

In much the same way that the tired arguments about the two incarnations of Genesis are mostly unfair, comparing the updates heard here with the originals is mostly a case of apples and oranges.